Canunda National Park ....

On Thursday 28th of March, Tony, Shaun & Hannah, Lee, Nicky & Samantha, Bill & Carol met at the Naracoorte Caravan Park. After setting up our tents, Tony and his kids made a small fire while the others took of to the local pub for tea and drinks.

On Friday morning we packed up to set off by 9:30am. Rob met up with Bill on his way back from filling up with fuel. We headed down to Millicent to meet up with Alan, Ineka, Dean, Debbie & Chelsea. We stopped at a nice park with a playground for a cuppa and to let the kids play.

Off to Southend. After leaving the bitumen we travelled to Oil Rig Square (camping ground) and from there we drove onto the beach. Travelling along the beach we encountered both sandy patches as well as some rocky sections. We were unable to find the campsite that was supposed to be along the beach so we settled for a nice spot that was situated at the beginning of the walk to Boozy Gully. Lunch was eaten after pitching our tents. In the afternoon some of our group tried a little bit of fishing (caught seaweed & no fish) while the rest of us walked to Boozy Gully.

On Saturday we planned to four wheel drive to Carpenters Rocks and thinking that there was a bit of driving to do and to beat the high tide we set off early. We drove back through the dunes and rocks the way we had come on Friday. Bill being in the lead took many detours to check the condition of the beach for driving on. On one of these detours the Defender appeared to get STUCK. Cameras appeared from everywhere to catch this rare occurrence BUT as we stood there and watched, the vehicle made it’s way out with relative ease. On we continued along the beach to Oil Rig Square and then through more sand dunes. Those who looked carefully around at the poles and signposts found that the Easter Bunny had come a little early.

It turned out that the beach was too soft to drive on safety in most spots, so we stuck to the dunes. We stopped at the lighthouse for lunch followed by an icecream at the local store. We then returned to camp via some dirt roads, which gave us some nice views of Lake Bonney.

Sunday morning we found that the Easter Bunny had paid us all a visit. It was to be a free day to do whatever so we all ended up going to the beach. Some of us fished, while others read books and the rest just sat and enjoyed the weather. Chelsea and Samantha played nicely together building and destroying sandcastles. Dean was the first one to catch a fish, but it was undersized and returned. Rob then caught himself a decent salmon, which he and Tony had for tea that night. The prize for the biggest fish would have to go the Bill Saunders for the humungus Mulloway that he caught. With the help of Tony and Carol a small fire was made on the beach so that some of us could cook lunch.

The changing of the tide had passed so we decided to return to camp via Bevilaqua Ford. We found a large sand dune which most of us climbed / ran to the top of. Getting down was the fun bit as we rolled, or ran down the steep descent. Once again while we were driving we found small treats left by the mysterious Easter Bunny.

Monday arrived and again we were up early so that we could beat the afternoon traffic chaos.

All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend, which was well organised.

By Nicky & Lee

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